


We're Not in 'Bama, Anymore.

by RoseaBee



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Gen, Mentions of Character Death, Possible Romance, heed the gore warning, occassional dark humor, possible descent into madness, universe swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2017-12-15 08:59:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseaBee/pseuds/RoseaBee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After what seemed like the beginning to the roadtrip from hell, best friends, Sarah Wilsey and Alyssa Thompson find themselves somewhere that should be impossible to wind up. One knowing what all could be in store, and the other being totally oblivious, can Alyssa get herself and Sarah back to where things make better sense while trying not to get too involved with the murder cases, or will the Chesapeake Ripper manage to catch them first?</p><p> "Come into my parlor," said the spider to the fly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Let the Madness Begin

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story done that I've ever gotten the guts up to post so please bear with me.
> 
> Music: "500 Miles" by Proclaimers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the picture is a screenshot I made. Lyss the main character (Girl in the black dress), Will (The guy behind the couch), Sarah (Girl in the purple dress) and, of course, Hannibal (The guy in the grey suit).
> 
> I do not claim to own any characters (except the girls). All Copyright belong to the original owners.

 It was cold. Stupidly cold. So cold, in fact, that it was snowing and sticking to the dark asphalt with no hope of melting any time soon withing the next couple of hours. Of course, any sane person would avoid trudging this type of weather on foot, right? Tell that to the two figures, bundled up in not-so-heavy coats, walking along the snowy ditch, having their car break down and being lost to boot. One was hunched into itself as the other strolled along, hands holding a map, its posture relaxed as if it were  a warm summer night. The stretch of road cut through the woods of a forest for miles and miles, nothing but steep banks and inclines to either side, leading into pitch black woods.

Both figures were nineteen years of age, but the one that was hunched over was the older of the two by five or six months. Her name was Alyssa Thompson. She had long, dark brown hair, hazel-eyed, and a temper as hot as a bonfire. Sarah Wilsey, the younger, looked exactly the same as Alyssa except her eyes were more of a mahogany brown. They had no blood relations, but called each other 'sis' simply because they had known each other since they were kids and people had confused them as twins when they had been in kindergarten (having the exact same, shot haircut at the time). They were going away to college come spring, and Sarah had wanted to take one last trip together before they parted ways for who knew how long. Being the only one who knew how to drive, Alyssa agreed, packed her stuff, and just drove. Which now led to their current, freezing situation.

"Of all the places...," the hunched figure growled through chattering teeth, "Of all the places in the world to break down; Why chose to go n-north for a _winter_ vacation, Sarah? Isn't it _sane_ to fly south when th-the winter months roll in?"The figure walking upright, Sarah, Inclined her head to Alyssa. "Lighten up, would ya, Lyss?" She chirped, the cold obviously not bothering her as much as it did the other, "It's that stupid, old heap of-" "Hey!" Alyssa snapped, standing to her full height to glare at Sarah. "Don't you even start, all right? It's not like you have a car; who's the one bustling you around when you wanna go places?" The car is question was a beloved 1967 Chevy black Impala that cost Alyssa more than just an arm and a leg to buy. Sarah laughed, her arms folding across her chest, "Then if that old hunk of junk didn't break down, why is we're walking through two feet of snow and counting?"  
  
Alyssa glared at the girl, "At least I know how to drive. You don't like my car, why not learn and get your own?" Sarah just laughed as if the other had said something amusing but didn't reply with anything else. Alyssa just huffed and looked back over her shoulder at the foot prints that trailed behind. The car had broken down around a mile-in-a-half back, though the two cold hours of walking made it feel longer than that. She turned back to Sarah, peering at the map. She was about to ask if Sarah had figured out where they were or where the closest landmark was, until she noticed something off about the map that her sister was holding. "Whoa, can I see the map?" She said, snatching it from Sarah's grasp, standing still as she glared at the colorful piece of paper. The younger of the two rolled her eyes and bit out, "Yeah sure, here you go, Lyss. Why thank you, Sarah," sarcastically.  
  
Alyssa, though, wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were tearing across the lines that adorned the map, before she suddenly slapped Sarah on the back of the head, "You were holding the map upside down! No wonder we're lost!" Sarah yelped at the hit, rubbing the back of her head, "How was I suppose to know?" Alyssa's left eye twitched and it took everything she had not to tackle the girl over, "Because that," she drew an upside-down number five in the air, " _isn't_ , how you draw a five." Sarah held up her hands in defense at shoulder height, "The text is too small. You know I've been needing glasses for a while."  
  
Alyssa huffed, her breath coming out in a thick cloud before her face. She pinched the bridge of her nose before folding the map up and tucking it into her jacket, "Whatever. C'mon, we better keep moving before we freeze to death. I think I saw lights up ahead," she said, continuing onward. Though the only light was given by that of the full moon. Sarah looked at her before looking back the way they had come, not following the other just yet, "Shouldn't we stay in the car?" Alyssa shook her head, "No. In these temperatures, the inside of the car will freeze quicker than the outside. It'd be a death sentence." She could hear her sister sigh in surrender before her footsteps crunching in the snow followed. Alyssa slowed so the girl could catch up, Alyssa rubbing useless over her forearms to massage heat into them.   
  
They continued onward silently, not sure where they were going when a mild headache throbbed in Alyssa's temples. Shortly after, Sarah hissed, rubbing her forehead. Alyssa stopped and looked back at the girl in concern. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when the throb in her temples suddenly exploded into a full blown, dizzying headache. Alyssa gasped and held her head as the world began to spin, a high pitching ringing in their ears making them deaf to any other sound around them. As the ringing got louder and louder, the earth began to shake and rumble as if a hungry beast was just waiting under the surface to break free and devour them. "What's going on?" Sarah cried, sounding beyond petrified, her hands clasped firmly over her ears. The falling snow had thickened, swirling around like a blizzard within a tornado, the wind howling with the force. Alyssa felt as if a pressure was trying to crush her down, the force stealing her breath away. She couldn't hear, couldn't speak. Black spots clouded her vision as she collapsed to the snowy ground onto her knees, about to pass out. Though as soon as she was sure she was gone, it all stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

The wind had vanished along with the strange pressure and the snow had begun to fall at a soft, languid pace. Alyssa pitched forward, catching herself on her hands as she heaved, coughed and gasped for air, finally able to breathe again. She barely registered Sarah  had knelt beside her, a hand on her shoulder, whispering, "What was that?" As if mentioning the oddity would summon it back. Alyssa could only manage shaking her head as she attempted to stand with Sarah's aid. Clearing her throat, she wheezed, pointing towards the treeline where a small glow of lights could be seen with the out line of a building. Preferring to get inside less the strange phenomenon were to have an encore, both girls tore off in the direction of the lights, consequences be damned. Breaking through the trees that opened to a field, they stared at the small house that stood out, quite literally like a beacon in the fog for the girls.  
  
They looked to one another before Sarah spoke, "If whoever lives in there's a nut-," She began. "-It was nice knowin' ya," Alyssa finished before stepping forward, heading towards the house. Sarah followed back after two steps, "Not what I had in mind, sis," she muttered, hoping over a mound of shrubbery. Alyssa chuckled, looking back at the girl from over her shoulder, "Would you have liked, 'I just gotta outrun you,' more?" Sarah rolled her eyes, chuckling at her friend's dark sense of humor. Making it to the house, Alyssa cautiously stepped onto the front porch, taking note from the number of growls that came from inside the house that whoever owned the property had a lot of dogs. She wasn't afraid of dogs, but she wasn't very fond of them, either. Noting her sister's hesitation, Sarah sighed and joined her on the porch, knocking on the door. A voice inside could be heard, talking to dogs, getting them to quiet down before the door was opened not too soon later. 

It was a man with dark brown hair, blueish eyes, and an unshaven face wearing a sweaty grey tee-shirt that made him look like he had run a mile. He smelled like it, too. He was looking them over as they were him, though more of trying to figure if they were really there or not. "May I help you?" He asked, avoiding looking them in the eyes. Though to Alyssa, there was something completely familiar. She just couldn't put a finger on it. "Hi, I'm sorry if we disturbed you," Sarah said sweetly, breaking both the man and Alyssa from their thoughts. "Her piece of shit car broke down," Sarah pointed at Alyssa who glared back at the girl, silently, "we're lost and we've been walking for ages. Is it all right if we stayed the night?" The man regarded the two of them warily before he stepped back to let them in, "Might as well. A blizzard's suppose to come in later tonight." Entering the house, Alyssa shut the door behind them, muttering, "No shit," remembering what had happened earlier. Sarah chuckled softly at this, but was more keen to look around. The house small, an arching leading to the living room, another to a bedroom, a third going into the kitchen, and a door that was safe to assume was the bathroom. Though what the stairs led to neither girl could guess other than the attic.  
  
The mad had gone to the bedroom before he came back shortly, wearing a new shirt and sweat pants, going to the kitchen now, "Name's Will. Can I get you some coffee?" He asked, pouring some coffee grounds into the brewer, "Yes please." Sarah said, as she went into the kitchen as well, sitting at the small table as Alyssa leaned against the arch frame. "None for me, thanks. I'm Lyss, and she's my little sister, Sarah. Thanks for letting us stay, Will." He chuckled some as he turned the brewer on, "Don't mention it. Out of town?" Both girls nodded, "Winter break," Sarah said, "We start college come spring. Though we'd have a nice road trip,-" "-From hell," Alyssa added, "-Before we started." Sarah glared at her older sister for a moment. Will, however laughed, "I though so. You definitely sound like you're not from around here."  
  
They talked for a bit, Sarah and Will discussing her desired Major of engineering, while Alyssa stood by watching. She was studying Will, watching his mannerisms, when she finally realized why he was familiar. It took him wiping a hand over his eyes for her to realize it. "Your name wouldn't be William Graham, would it?" She spoke up, incidentally interrupting Sarah. Will and Sarah both looked at her for a moment, brows drawn together some in confusion. "Yes, it is. Am I suppose to know who you are?"  
  
Alyssa shook her head quickly, thoughts swirling in her head like a tidal pool. Just what was going on? "O-Oh no," Alyssa said, hurriedly. She tended to speak fast when lying and she hoped that wasn't something that he could figure out about her this soon. "I've just heard stories about you and your perfect profiling and pure empathy abilities, is all." He looked at her strangely, studying her, before getting up and pouring two cups of coffee instead of three when Alyssa gestured that she didn't want one. "I hope the stories you 'heard' were-," "-The ones on TattleCrime are are nothing but rags," She said in a rush. "They're not worth what a pig could spit."

Sarah had gotten up from the table by now and was whispering to her sister with the excuse she was brushing off some excess, melted snow from the elder's coat, "What's going on?" Alyssa forced a smile and whispered back, "Tell you later." Sarah shrugged before sitting back down, thanking Will for the coffee before taking a sip. The two began to talk when Alyssa had excused herself to the bathroom, pulling out her cell phone and making hasty calls to her parents' cell phones, her house number even Sarah's mother and brother. But all she got, was either a voice saying the number was disconnected or getting someone else _other_ thank who she was looking for. She ended up pissing off the Hispanic man on the other end of the phone when she had dialed her mother's cell phone three times just to be sure.  
  
Alyssa's confusion soon became silent panic. What the hell was going on? Was this some joke? How on earth were they in Will Graham's house? _Hannibal_ was a tv show based off of a movie, based off of the books. So how? Just what, exactly, caused the fabric of reality to tear like _this_? Alyssa shook her head, composing herself before she began to go completely hysteric, even as her mind was still swimming with thoughts. When she felt that she was mostly pieced together enough to step from the bathroom, she went back to the kitchen to see the two laughing over something Sarah had said. Alyssa leaned back against the door frame, hands in her pockets, "I'm pretty exhausted. Mind if I crash on the couch?" Will took a drink from his coffee before standing, "Are you sure? I have a guest room, upstairs."  
  
Alyssa shook her head, forcing herself to smile softly, "Yeah, I'm sure. Sarah can use the guest room. I'll be fine." Will shrugged, going to some part of the house and getting a pillow and throw blanket for her. She smiles her thanks, toed off her boots, shrugged her coat off then stretched out on the couch. She would have curled up had Winston, one of Will's dogs, not jumped up onto the couch and made himself comfortable laying on her legs. Will was about to tell the dog to get down, but Alyssa smiles and patted the top of the dog's head, assuring Will that it was fine. Bidding both Sarah and Will good night, Will had then showed Sarah to the guest room, leaving Alyssa to her thoughts. This wasn't a dream. They really were in the world of _Hannibal_ , there was no mistaking it, anymore. For anybody else, she was sure it would be incredible, but when the reality of actually being within the same realm of a cannibalistic serial killer would sink in, it becomes all too terrifying.  
  
The reality of it was, that knowing said cannibal was only a hour or three miles away from one's own location is enough to make someone's blood turn to ice. She was perfectly content to be curled up in her room and swoon over the doctor from dusk till dawn. At least then, reality and a tv screen separated her from the dangers that would now get to her, or worse Sarah. She wasn't sure just how many times saying "you're in the show," would help or if it would at all. But she knew two things for certain: She couldn't let any of her knowledge of the real Chesapeake Ripper get out, at least not this early and she had to at least get Sarah back home and out of danger.  
  
Yawning, she stretched out and got comfortable, patting Winston on the head. First thing's first: figure out what episode they've been chucked into and go from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to give me feed back of what you think or if I made any mistakes. Who knows, I may give you a shout out. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One would think seeing a murder scene on television would prepare one to see it up close....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting 6 Kudos and 82 hits in only three days? seriously, 82!? Yeah, I know more popular authors can get 50 hits in five minutes, but since this is my first post, I feel really honored, you guys, thank you. Especially to katatonic and the other five guests who gave me kudos.
> 
> This chapter is also under construction. Please bear with me. I have xXAvanaXx to thank for pointing a few things out to me.

Around eight in the morning, a very grumpy Alyssa sat at the dining table, a cup of coffee between her hands, her hazel eyes burning holes into the middle of her too-happy sister's head who was leaning against the counter, a glass of OJ in her hand. The younger of the two decided it would have been absolutely freaking _hilarious_ to plop down on the older's stomach to get her up, before laughing something about payback for getting them lost the day before, then flouncing her way into the kitchen.   
  
Her mood never changed even as Will walked in, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. "Morning," he said, as he poured himself a mug of coffee. "Good morning," Sarah replied in a sing-song tone. Her response caused Alyssa's grey cloud to turn tar black, "Eat shit and die," she hissed at the girl, though Will sensed something as wrong with the girl. Like it wasn't just obvious enough. "Rough night?" He asked, taking a sip from his mug. "No, rude awakening," Alyssa grumbled, "Little miss ray-o'-sunshine there though it'd be funny to use my gut as a trampoline." She missed Sarah muttering, "better yoru gut than your head," into the brim of her glass.  
  
It took Will everything he had not to spit his coffee out. Managing to recover, he set his mug on the counter before something could happen, "Would you feel better if I told you I could take a look at your car?" In an instant, Alyssa's mood shifted on a dime. She straightened from her hunched position to look at him with wide hazel eyes, "Seriously, you can?"  
  
He shrugged, "I can at least fix it enough to limp to a mechanic. Then you could be back on the road." Sarah scoffed, "Good luck. To both you and the mechanic. I swear that old thing has a parasite that keeps it from turning to dust." Alyssa gave the girl a blank stare, "It got us this far, didn't it take us up to Washington and out to California?" Sarah sighed, rolling her eyes, "Yeah, three years ago. But a lot of good that does us,  _now_ , don't ya think? "

Alyssa threw her hands up and leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms, "You're impossible, you know that?" Sarah just smiled back at the girl, taking a sip from her glass. After a while, Will had loaded up his car with tools and they piled in, Alyssa sitting up front this time to give directions. It had taken longer than she had thought it would, eleven o' clock sneaking up on them by the time they found the black vehicle. Being completely buried in snow, they had probably driven by it more than three times.

Alyssa didn't even wait for him to stop the car before she was out of the vehicle, furiously digging her Impala out. Will soon began to help her while Sarah stayed warm inside his car. Once the snow was cleared off the hood, Will popped it, whistling in appreciation at the eight-cylinder engine underneath. Not something he expected to see. "Well?" Alyssa began, wringing her hands together. To her, his long pause was a bad sign that something was wrong with her beloved car and that the odds of it being fixable were against her. But when he asked, "How many horses?" her shoulders slumped with relief.

"Around five-hundred, give or take. All parts are custom updates because the originals were rusted and falling out. Though the original owner was the one who installed them, not me. I just gave her a better pain job." She said, buffing out a bug smudge on the front windshield. Will chuckled some, looking about, trying to see what was the problem. "I can give it enough juice to help limp it to a mechanic, but there's not much else I think I can do."

Alyssa sighed like the burden of the world was on her shoulders. At least he could do that much. She sent a glare at Sarah's direction when she laughed, "Knew there wasn't a chance in hell that he could do anything."  
  
After a while and a kick from some jumper cables, the Impala purred to life, making the oldest girl almost squeal in happiness as she hugged Will's neck. Sure she'd have to pay a pretty penny to find out why the car choked out like it did, but as much as she loved the vehicle, it was worth it. Following Will in the Chevy, he led the way to the mechanic who agreed to have a look, but said that it could take over a week because of the age of the car and the fact most of the replacements were all customs. Groaning, Alyssa paid him the fee that it took for him to look at it- a hefty sum of 1,000 outright- and began to get their luggage and belongings out, stuffing them in the trunk of Will's car.

As Alyssa was getting her classical CD's and cassettes out of the middle console, she caught a mechanic with the name tag "Jessie", eyeing the tape player. She smiled at him, giving him a warning, "If you fuck around with the stereo for another pretty penny, I'll be sure you'll have to squat to piss before the end of winter."The tone of voice she used along with the sweet smile, made the mechanic rethink. All right, so updating the worn system for a couple more was a definite no go.

On the drive back to Will's, Sarah now in the passenger side, Will's phone started to ring. Pulling in to the driveway, he pulled his it out, hitting the "receive" button and held it to his ear as he got out. Both girls looked at each other before getting out of the car as well, Sarah opening the trunk of the car. They couldn't hear much other than Will giving short explanations about how he might be late and then asking estimated time of death and other tid bits. Sarah looked at Alyssa strangely, pulling her suit case out, "What is he, a murder investigator guy or something?"  
  
"In a way," Alyssa replied, getting her own bags out. "He's a profiler. Figures out how a criminal killed his victims." Sarah made an "ah" sound as the two of them lugged their things into the house. When she nearly bumped into Will coming out of the kitchen, Alyssa offered a hand to Will to help get his tools out when she noticed how edgy he appeared. "Hey, you all right?" She asked, though she knew he wasn't. Will shook his head, "No, uh," He wiped his wrist over his brow, "It's work."

He was shaky and jittery, not facing her for longer than a second. He paced around a little, grabbing his gun and car keys before she finally managed to catch his eye, "Anything Sair and I can do to help?" He chuckled dryly, pulling his suit jacket on, "Only if you know anything pertaining to detective,-" "Lyss' is like a real live Nancy Drew since we were kids." Sarah cut in, coming down the stairs. Alyssa looked at her sister, incredulously as Will looked back and forth between them, obviously unsure. Either that or he didn't know who Nancy Drew was. Though in the big scheme of things, that comes as of little to no surprise.

"She has no problem with gore, either," Sarah said before Alyssa could stop her, arms folded. Will popped an Aspirin before speaking. "All right. We could use all the help we can get at this point," he mumbled, walking out the door, keys jingling in his hand. Sarah smiled at the other girl before making a happy chirping sound and going out the door after Will. Alyssa was left staring at the door, mouth agape. What just happened and the hell did Sarah just get her into? Better yet, just how sick was Will in the first place to _agree ___?  
  
On the way to the crime scene, Will filled the both of them in on information that Alyssa all ready knew; the Chesapeake Ripper, the lack of organs in victims, and how the bodies showed in sounders of three. Though to keep face, she she gave Will her rapped attention, chuckling at how Sarah's face turned a pale shade of green when he got a little too friendly with the gorish details. "Wait, wait, wait, so this Chesapeake Ripper, copycat guy, he's harvesting these peoples' organs?" To say that dear little sister was aghast would be putting it kindly. "What the hell's he doin' with 'em?" "Don't know," Will said, "But we believe it has to do with black market, organ transplants." Alyssa kept quiet, deciding staying that way would be of a better benefit. It would seem she may be meeting the good doctor sooner than she desired.  
  
Getting to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Alyssa released a silent sigh of relief. So they wouldn't be bumping in to each other this soon. Great. Following Will, they almost slammed into him when Jack walked up from the front of the building. He didn't look too happy with Will being so late, but then again, to Alyssa, Jack never looked happy. The man made to greet Will and demand an explanation when he noticed the twins standing behind him. He looked to Will, meaning to demand what he was thinking, bring a pair of girls to the scene, but Alyssa was quick on her feet and spoke before Jack had the chance, "We're his students," She explained smoothly, "His lectures put us to sleep so we're joining him on the field in hopes to learn more."  
  
Jack looked between the girls before looking to Will who didn't have enough time to be shocked, "Is she telling the truth?" "Uuh, ye-yes  sir," Will replied automatically. "They're not top of the class, but they have the potential to be. If a lecture and a slideshow puts them to sleep, maybe the real thing would be a wake-up call." Both of the girls held their breath as Jack looked to them over once more before shrugging and turning to Will, beginning to fill him in with the details of the victim as he walked them into the building, giving Will a visitor's pass.  
  
"How the hell did you do that?" Sarah whispered so Jack wouldn't hear. "Do what?" Alyssa replied, a thin brow raised. " _That_. Lie without rushing. You always rush when-" "-It's a trick that I think may be improved while we're in this." Sarah looked at the other for a moment before chuckling softly. Looking around, Alyssa knew exactly where they were going and just what they were going to see. But seeing it on the tv compared to actually being there, seeing the blood, smelling the copper, is a whole other ball game.  
  
The nurse was on a stretcher, eyes gouged out, rods and other long and skinny objects protruding from her body making her look like a pin cushion. Blood coated the floor like paint, staining the white of it along with her clothes and splatters on the walls a deep shade of crimson. With the reality of the sigh and smells of it, it took all Alyssa had in order to keep her head and not faint, but Sarah was a whole different story. She turned a deep shade of green and fled the room.  
  
Jack watched the younger run with a raised brow, then looked to Alyssa to see what she would do. Though she surprised him by staying put, rolling her shoulders and clearing her throat, asking for a pair of gloves. Putting them on, she stepped forward, looking over the blood, then at the body, grimacing. Not from the gore, but at how she was killed. "He wasn't merciful, I can say that much," She said, "Most of these were added post mortem." "How can you tell?" Jack asked, though he was testing her forensic skills more than just out of curiosity. "There's a lack of bleeding around a few of these wounds," She said, pointing to a rod that was sticking out of the nurse's left side just above her pelvis. "There's not enough blood around the wound to say that this was added while she was alive."  
  
"Pretty sharp young lady you have there," Said another male's voice. Alyssa's back went ramrod straight as Doctor Chilton walked in, looking from Jack to Will to Alyssa then back to Jack who was holding his badge up and started to explain who they were. Chilton laughed when he said that they were there to investigate the murder while Alyssa silently added "Obviously" to the statement. He invited them into his office to explain things and discuss what had happened. Jack and Will both sat in the chairs while Alyssa stood outside with Sarah, who was hiccuping and drinking bottles of water like a fish.  
  
"You never could handle things like this," The older girl said, chuckling, which earned her a death glare. "Shut up. I don't know how you _can_. Jesus Christ," Sarah shook her head to clear it, pressing a wet paper towel to the back of her neck, "I'm gonna have nightmares now." "Don't go sayin' that around Jack," Alyssa said, nudging the girl with her shoulder, "He'll have you either seeing a shrink or committed to a place like this." Sarah looked horrified, her green face turning sheet white. Both girls looked up as Jack and Will walked out of Chilton's office. Will looked at the two for a moment then Jack spoke, "Will's going to take a look at the scene. He need complete privacy, all right?" Both girls nodded and Sarah said, "Yes sir."  
  
Sarah and Alyssa both waited for Will in the car. Well more like Sarah was asleep in the front seat, Alyssa laying out in the back, thinking. Will really didn't do much. She knew where they were now; _Entree_. Doctor Gideon was the murderer which everyone knew, The Ripper was freaking Jack out with the recorded phone call of Miriam Lass' last moments, Hannibal smelling Will and becoming aware of the profiler's ailment, and Jack spoke to Hannibal with a glass of wine about Miriam Lass herself. She chuckled to herself at the second to last thought. The image of Hannibal sniffing Will was funny, but it wasn't every day a grown man smelled another with the explanation that it was "difficult to avoid". Yeah sure.  
  
She was pulled from her musing from Will knocking on the window of the car for them to unlock the door. Alyssa bent around the driver's seat and popped the lock. He got in and began to go on about the case, but Alyssa tuned him out. She knew all of this, and at some point, irritation could make her spill the beans about what was fact from fiction. It's not ruining the story she was afraid of, but bringing up a body that was to come about, put suspicion on her and get locked away. That was something she had no desire to do.  
  
He drove them home and dropped them off, telling them he had an "appointment" and that he'd be back around eight or nine o' clock. Alyssa knew what he meant by "appointment" of course, waving back at him as she went into the house. Sarah went into the kitchen to fix something to eat, but Alyssa practically collapsed on the couch, pulling the pillow over her head. "Long day?" Sarah joked, popping a tray dinner into the microwave. Alyssa only grumbled, "Screw the food, I have a date with two sexy guys in dreamland." Sarah laughed at this, rolling her eyes. Though dreaming wasn't what Alyssa was really worried about. It's what the days ahead that was concerning her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are slowly but surely getting there. I wanted to start on the Entree episode to introduce Gideon fairly quickly to shoot down the elephant in the room. I know it's a little lack-luster, I'll be coming back to this at some point to fix that, but for now, it was mainly a chapter to get the ball rolling.
> 
> Regardless, thank you for reading (or skipping) it and keeping up with this story. I honestly do appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a day out shopping turns into something dear Alyssa's nerves could really do without....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not updating in a while. My love life bit me on the butt and I fell into a slump with no interest to write or do anything for a while. Though, I hope this makes up for that. Just a little bridge until I can get back in a swing. Special thanks to that one guest, whoever you are, InsanityRed, and jasminrt for the kudos. They are really, much appreciated and give me a reason to keep with this story <3\. Though chapter four may be delayed, though I won't forget about it. I'm all ready chucking around ideas.

If there was anything that Hannibal hated more than rude swine and banality, it had to have been shopping at the supermarket. It usually entailed having fine cuisines dangled under his nose and having no means or abilities to quickly and easily come about a premium cut without having some other sow bear witness and scamper off to the authorities. Being a man of fine tastes, such sloppiness was unsightly.

Hannibal grit his teeth to subdue his temperament when a ratty-haired teenager riding a cart sped by, nearly slamming into him. The boy's reek of decay was so smothering, it extinguished the pleasant aroma of the herbs that Hannibal could smell through the jars, and the sweet fragrance of some woman's expensive perfume. The boy's stench of amphetamines and rot made Hannibal's stomach turn with disgust.

Watching the cackling teenager vanish around the end of the isle, Hannibal then glanced over to the fruit isle, not having to look for long to see Abigail browsing through the peaches, occasionally looking at the list he had given her. Smiling inwardly to himself, he went back to brows through the clusters of herbs that were close to over-ripening.

He could have cursed when the whelp rounded the corner of the isle again, ramming into an unsuspecting elderly woman's cart head on, the force sending both people to the floor. Both of the carts wheeled into the opposite-facing shelves, glass and plastic containers being sent to the floor, a good portion of them shattering on impact and spilling their contents across the floor.

Hannibal grit his teeth, his choke-hold grip on a cluster of coriander flexed as he imagined the boy's scrawny throat under his palms. He set the cluster in his cart before moving it out of the way of the catastrophe and proceeded to the stunned old woman who kept going on about her hip as she clumsily tried to get to her feet, slipping in the pungent mix of spilled preserves and spices. Reassuring her that nothing was broken, Hannibal helped her up while glaring at the teenager as the woman shuffled off.  
  
The teen was leaning against the shelves, favoring his left leg, clutching the wrist of the hand that was bleeding from a mildly shallow slash in his palm. It wasn't near as sever as what Hannibal thought he deserved. The psychiatrist began to consider possibilities of how the boy would come about an unfortunate and sudden demise when something mildly shocking happened next.

A girl with short, dark brown hair rushed the whelp from what seemed the next isle over, snatching him by the collar of his grungy Metallica shirt. She began to get on his case about how he was "almost an adult" and "should act his age," instead of an idiot making a spectacle of himself and that he could have seriously hurt someone. The boy, however, was obviously not listening, more focused with staring at the girl's breast, all of his injuries forgotten. He had the audacity to ignore everything she had said and began to try and _flirt_ with her, even though she was obviously several years older than he was.  
  
When he had attempted to palm at her rear end, Hannibal's disgust skyrocketed to the same extent as the girl's anger, the slap she delivered to his cheek making this evident. Just as Hannibal had made up hi mind as to how the boy's demise would greet him sooner than the whelp most likely desired, a taller girl with long darker hair appeared around from the corner and threw her weight in to a sucker punch that connected with the boy's mouth and nose.  
  
The new girl seethed with white-hot fury, the shorter of the two's anger completely evaporated for favor of pulling the elder back for fear of a worse confrontation, the boy doubled over, holding his face and groaning in pain. To Hannibal, it appeared that the taller was allowing herself to be pulled back, though was more than obviously tense enough to fight back if the boy tried more. She began to growl and curse at the boy, daring him to even look at her sister the wrong way, even as the manager and several employees marched over to see what the commotion was.  
  
"What seems to be the problem, here?" The short, pudgy manager with the name-tag "Timmons" on it, asked as he looked between the two girls, to the grungy whelp, then back to the girls.  
  
"He's been rasin' Cain 'round the whole dang store," the elder girl said, keeping the shorter of the two pushed back, her southern twang heavy. Hannibal figured it was in the Mississippi-Tennessee-Alabama-Georgia region. "He almost ran a lil ol' lady over, knocked yer shelves down, and been harassin' my sister."  
  
By appearance alone, Hannibal could see the manger and the boy shared blood, this observation being proven by the manager's lack of comprehension in what others say. "I don't know about that accent, little girl. Just where are you from? You have no right to barge in _my_ store and cause a scene like an inbred, red-neck hillbilly."  
  
The elder girl looked like he had slapped her, though her shock melted back into the same anger as before, her teeth grit, her sister's grip tightening on her arm. Considering now would be the opportune time, Hannibal stepped in before the girl drew a blood bath and took his potential meal from him. It was bad enough having to keep himself from flaying the whelp, but the rudeness that Timmons displayed wore his patience to the point that he wouldn't last another second longer. "She's right. His recklessness nearly injured an elderly person as well as cost you an estimate in damages and merchandise."

He observed that the elder girl stiffened, all of her anger diminishing as her shoulders squared up. He heard her breath hitch, though it seemed the manager was too livid and ready to point fingers to really notice. Timmons' face turned a blotchy shade of red and he opened his mouth at having someone else take the out-of-state'er side, ready to tell Hannibal off. Though something seemed to make think otherwise as soon as he laid eyes on the good doctor. In the same instant, Timmons then turned to his son, who was dabbing at his nose with the hem of his shirt, and began to rant and rave about responsibilities and recklessness. Hannibal smiled to himself in satisfaction from the boy's stunned expression; It was apparent the boy was spoiled and his father had never gotten on to him for anything before. Hannibal had a feeling the boy wouldn't have the reek of cocaine, alcohol and an array of other drugs, otherwise.  
  
Hannibal watched from the corner of his eye as both of the girls left the scene, quickly and quietly. The older girl didn't look back, dragging her companion by the wrist, the younger complaining about wanting to watch the whelp get into trouble-- though it was adamant that the elder would have none of it. She would have much preferred to leave before attention was brought back to them. Pity, Hannibal thought, he would have liked to invite them to dinner. Oh well. Perhaps Timmons would provide him with the entertainment he so desired. He was sure the pudgy man would offer enough to make up for what he couldn't take from the boy due to contamination of drugs.  
  
Going back about his business, Hannibal went to the end of the isle just as Abigail caught up. She looked behind him at the mess that the employees were still trying to clean, and how the manager was getting on to the stinking whelp. "What did I miss?" She asked, setting the bags of fruit into the basket. Hannibal smiled, "Nothing important, Abigail. Trivial matters of bad parenting and a lack of common sense."

* * *

_Oh my God! Holy ballz! Did that just happen!?/em >Were just a few of the phrases zooming through Alyssa's conscious. She felt cold, freezing like Death had marked her. For all she knew, it did, what with the current situation and all. What else could she expect from being in the same store, being within five freaking _feet_ of one of _the_ most well known serial killers of the _century__.... Well, "well known" from her side of the universe. Literally.  
  
"Lyss, would you calm down all ready and tell me just what the hell is goin' on? I was looking forward to into watching you rip that little shit and his old man a new one." Sarah whined, finally tugging her wrist free of Alyssa's now slack, vice-like grip once they had gotten to the rental car; a beat up and sputtering convertible.  
  
"Just get in the damn car, Sarah," Alyssa commanded in a tone that left no room for argument. She felt like she could have torn the door off the car's passenger side from the amount of adrenaline soaked with fear pumping through her veins. She all but threw Sarah into the vehicle before slamming the door shut. Making her way around the car, she made the mistake of looking up.  
  
Right outside the sliding doors of the supermarket was Hannibal. Abigail was following him, both carrying brown paper bags filled with leafy greens. Hannibal was reading a business card that he was holding in between his fingers.  
  
Alyssa ducked into the the car, knocking her head against the door frame in her rush, as Hannibal lifted his head to look in her direction, no doubt from feeling someone's eyes on him.  
  
"Lyss, what's-," "Shut up," She hissed, turning the car on and trying to back the vehicle up casually before she turned the wheel and peeled out of the parking lot. Sarah exclaimed in shock, bouncing around in the front seat before righting herself and buckling up. When Alyssa merged to the interstate, Sarah had long since had enough, "Alyssa Lynn Thompson, what the hell is _wrong_? You're acting like you've seen a ghost."  
  
Alyssa didn't respond for a good span of time, her eyes occasionally looking into the rear view mirror. Her heart felt like it could beat out of her chest as soon as she could manage to get it out of her throat, "I'm fine," She finally said, "I'm just pissed at that little shit. That's all. you know, my social anxiety. Didn't help that the manager and employees made a crowd...." Yeah, perfect excuse. "Yeah, he was a bit of a dick." Sarah muttered, leaning back in the passenger seat, feet on the dashboard. "I still woulda liked to see you tear him in two." "Nah, ya wouldn't," Alyssa grinned, "There'd be guts and blood everywhere. If you can't handle a crime scene-," "Okay, okay, you've got a point," Sarah chuckled, all of Alyssa's earlier strangeness seemingly forgotten, "Remember, we still need groceries. Wake me up when we get to... wherever." Sarah settled into the seat, pulling her jacket up like a blanket, covering her face with it to keep the sun off her face.  
  
Alyssa rolled her eyes, switching a blinker on to change lanes, "'Night, Sleeping beauty," She said sarcastically, earning her a one-eyed glance from the other girl, "Don't think I won't forget to ask about your mood swing, later." "Oh, joy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 points to whoever caught the Markiplier quote and the bitch-jerk reference ;). You have to forgive the bit where it's Hannibal's perspective and the Alyssa's twang is over the top. It's known that those with an accent hear that of someone with the same one there isn't much of a difference, but when two people of totally different accents hear the others voice, it sound overly exaggerated because they're not use to it. Thank you for reading, and remember; I adore feedback and good, well-thought out criticisms. Flamers may be given a name and serve as a dish on Hannibal's dinner table. :3 Much love and til' next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank the one guest who gave me the kudos. It's always appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
> "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."  
> -Albus Dumbledore

_That damn stag; to say Will was fed up seeing the creature was more than an understatement. Just what was it? what did it mean? Why did it always follow him? It's eyes always felt like skewers when it looked at him. Like it was seeing through him. Other times, it made him feel like it was warning him._  
  
_Or hunting him._  
  
_Amongst all of the gory details that he tended to see within his dreams, the reoccurring stag had to have been the most irritating. He decided this, when he found himself standing on his porch in the darkness of night, the stag standing off just by fifteen or twenty feet in the middle of the gravel road. Compared to his other dreams, Will felt that this one was different as soon as he met the dagger-like, scarlet gaze._

_The stag seemed to be swaying, shifting from one hoof to the other. Its withers twitched and shivered spastically as if it were trying to rid off bothersome insects. Will felt like he was compelled to help the entity, though was unsure how he possibly could or what it would possibly do. He watched in shock as the stag gave a haunting cry , a shapeless mass beginning to bulge from the creature's shoulder like a tumor._

_The stag's gentle swaying turned into staggers as if it were a hard time to keep itself upright as the mass grew and grew to the size off a large exercise ball. The size of the mass caused it to droop off the creature's body, pulling it down with its weight before it finally detached and fell to the ground with a wet plopping sound to soft for its size. The stag, relieved from the burden, shook itself before lowering its head and sniffing at the dark mass. It then breathed slowly upon the shapeless form, causing it to shiver and twitch._

_When the stag nosed gingerly at it, Will slowly began to move closer to get a better look. With each step he took, the blob's shaking lessened and features began to form. Slowly, it began to form into some sort of animal that was curled into a tight ball on the ground, head tucked under sinew limbs. He was no closer than eleven feet when the creature opened its iridescent, crimson eyes, raising its head to stare at Will with an intelligent gaze._  
  
_When its eyes locked onto him, Will found that he couldn't take another step. He literally felt like he had been frozen where he stood, because no matter how much his mind screamed for his feet to move, they stayed put as if cemented into the ground. The new creature, still watching Will, slowly got to its feet, shaking itself, the stag softly grunting to it. With a small  spark of shock, Will realized that the form was actually a doe. Exactly the same as the stag if not a little shorter as if it were an older adolescence._  
  
_The stag made another grunt-like sound, standing behind the doe as she slowly stepped closer to Will, her unblinking, somehow familiar gaze making his skin ignite with an invisible cold fire. Less than six feet away, with each step the doe took towards him, it felt as if invisible hands were grabbing at Will with a harsh, forceful grasp._ _All Will could do was groan in the back of his throat_ _and try to struggle, though the force upon him seemed to gain in weight as his feet were still welded to the snowy ground._  
  
_When the doe was close enough that Will could have touched her without having to raise his hand, she sniffed at him, nose smelling at his shoulder without touching him. It took only an instant for him to look into her glassy eyes and see a familiar face reflecting back when the doe opened her mouth and_ \--

"-Will!? For God's sake, wake up!" Will's eyes shot open and he launched upright in bed only to collide foreheads with Alyssa with a fairly loud and audible crack. The collision sent Will's teeth jarring as he flopped back onto the bed, Alyssa falling backwards into the floor from her perch on the edge of the mattress. Giving off simultaneous groans of pain, it was no doubt both brunettes were seeing stars.  
  
Neither heard nor cared about Sarah standing in the doorway, laughing like a hyena at the comical scene.

After a rainbow of choice cruses, heated glares, two ice-packs, and three cups of coffee, Will and both girls were seated out in the living room, spaced around the small space heater. Will lounged on the couch, Sarah in the armchair with her legs pulled up, leaving Alyssa to sit in the floor amongst the pack of dogs. It didn't slip past Will's notice that both gilrs looked exhausted, Alyssa more so than Sarah.

When he asked, Sarah explained, "Lyss' Woke me up, sayin' you were havin' some sorta fit." Will looked apologetically between the girls, sighing to himself. "I'm sorry-," he began, but Alyssa, petting the terrier that curled up in her lap, cut him off. "What were you dreamin' about?" She asked, abruptly, taking Will by surprise. "You were squirmin' like you were tryin' to get away from somethin'."  
  
Will was quiet for the span of a heart beat before he chuckled humorlessly and began, "What are you, my-?" "-We're your friends," Alyssa interjected again, Sarah nodding in agreement. "And your roommates. When you can't sleep,  we can't either.  If somethin's botherin' you, we wanna try and help," the younger finished, smiling sweetly at him.  
  
Will was still pretty hesitant to talk, gaze spaced into his lap. With his eyes down, Will missed the look the sisters shared, Sarah nodding, then getting up, going into the kitchen. "How about we go on a walk?" Alyssa suggested in her sweet southern twang. "The dogs haven't been out yet, right?" Will looked at her before nodding mutely and standing, almost being pulled off balance when Alyssa got to her feet, grabbed him by the wrist and proceeded to pull him out the front door.  
  
Standing on the porch brought back the memory of the strange dream with a force, but it didn't last very long as Alyssa drug him off the side and towards the fields, the dogs' happy barks and yelps of being outside echoing from the surrounding forest. Will finally relented after a few tense minutes, if only to get the girl to stop dragging him along. Though when he still didn't talk and kept his eyes down, Alyssa frowned, "Will, I know yer havin' bad dreams. They make you feel confused an' frustrated. Everyone can see it."  
  
Her voice was soft and gentle, making Will feel calmer, though mildly irked since it sounded like she was talking to a child. He couldn't say much to that though since he felt like a lost one most of the time. The look he unintentionally gave her must've been like that of one since her eyes went soft and she smiled, sympathetically.  
  
Thinking on it, he found both of these girls interesting. He didn't trust them very well, but even with that, they still managed to offer reliable help with different notes and details on the Chesapeake Ripper case to the best of their abilities, especially on Sarah's part as she was easy to get squeamish. Sarah was charming in a way that got her answers to almost classified questions, and Alyssa could see the details at first glance that someone else would have to look three times or more to find.

Both looked past the obvious, though Will could feel how irritated Alyssa could get during an investigation on the Chesapeake Ripper case. But what really got to him and pulled his chain was what she was hiding. She knew something, more than she was letting on, and he knew that. He deduced that long ago during the closing of Doctor Gideon's nurse-murder that what she knew pertained towards the Chesapeake Ripper. He was aware that she knew Able Gideon was not, indeed, the real Chesapeake Ripper despite what all the facts and notes said.  
  
Will couldn't forget the details about how'd she tune him out when he'd inform both the sisters of details to possible links or suspects to the case. Alyssa's eyes would glaze over as if she were tuning him out. He recognized the look from some of his students when he would review a lecture, but a few would all ready know the material and had no need to go over it all again.  
  
When it came to finding out what Alyssa had to hide, Will found that he'd have a better chance at getting a life story out of a brick wall. Thinking on the predicament, maybe he could trick her into humoring him and tell him what he wanted to know.  
  
"A stag," he said, breaking the long silence that built while he had been thinking. Alyssa's eyes seemed to shift with an interest and recognition as a knowing smile hid in the corners of her mouth. "And what did the stag look like?" Alyssa asked, encouragingly. Will glanced to the woody horizon of leafless trees that made up the beginning of the dense forest that surrounded his property.  
  
"Big. And maybe a dark blue or black. It looks really furry, or like its pelt is too long and matted." Walking abreast with Will, Alyssa nodded to herself, "And what was it doin'? What were you doin'?" Will tensed slightly at this question, unsure how to answer without sound like a total nutcase. "It...," he paused for the span of a few heartbeats, "I was standing on the porch when it started to sway." He cringed some at how his low and clipped his words sounded. It reminded him how a shy and reluctant child would sound during show-and-tell.  
  
"Sway?" Alyssa sounded mildly surprised at what he said, but that was something Will couldn't blame her for. He felt stupid for telling her what his dreams entailed, but when she nodded for him to continue, it brought the strange sense of comfort that her sister or Alana Bloom usually brought to him. "Y-Yeah, it was staggering like it was injured.... Then a doe materialized," Though he didn't say by which means.

"A doe? Seriously? What did she look like?" Alyssa asked, her hazel eyes shining in curiosity. To Will, she sounded surprised though excited if not a little animated about what he had to say. "What does it matter? What exactly do you think talking about my dreams will accomplish?" He cringed back from her this time, knowing just how harsh he had sounded, but the girl just smiles back.

"Our dreams can be illusions brought on by several factors," she explained, sounding rather professional for someone her age on such a subject.  "Sometimes the can bring our fears to the surface, give our reasons for stress a face, and sometimes act as a puzzle piece to be interpreted for somethin' that we're tryin' to wrap our heads around," She had a soft laugh in her tone, making light of her explanation. It sounded much like the way Sarah usually sounded and it felt like a cooling balm on his fraying nerves.

  
"You honestly believe that," Will said, not phrasing it as a question. No matter the explanation, he would always be skeptical to any explanation behind any sort of illusion brought on be sleep. It was foolish to dwell on such things since one normally can't feel anything withing the land of dreams and, for the most part, have the inability to control what happens.

Alyssa nodded her head once, "I can interpret certain aspects of dreams. Sure, dreams are dreams and any interpretation shouldn't be taken completely seriously, but I can give you facts and points that can help you figure out the rest for yourself." Will had stopped walking at this point and was staring blankly at the girl, wondering if he needed to have her committed. Though she just made a sound in the back of her throat and rolled her eyes at the blank expression he knew he must've been wearing, "Just humor me. What did you do? Did you try to run? What did the deer-," "Elk." "-elk do? Was anyone else there?" 

Will sighed, scratching the back of his head. He wasn't sure what talking about sleep-induced illusions could possibly do, but if it would get her to stop going on about it, then fine. "...On one condition," Will finally said after a long pause, "You tell me what you really know about the Chesapeake Ripper. I know you're letting on about what you actually know. If you don't tell me, you'll be held for obstruction of justice, understand?" Will took in the girl's subtle change of expression- twitching eyebrow, dilated pupils, licking of dry lips and the biting of the inside of of a cheek- though she nodded in agreement. 

"Deal, now talk. I promise that I won't say anythin' to anyone else about it," she vowed, her lips pressed into a think line. Will took a breath to level his head before he began to walk onward through the field again, looking down at the ground.

"The doe looked just like the stag. She was just a little shorter and her eyes seemed to glow. Before she had materialized, I had tried to get closer to the stag when it had begun to stagger- I had thought it was hurt." When Will had glanced over at the girl, he could practically see the gears begin to turn as she took in what he said, "And did he let you? Or did he try to run?"

Will shook his head slightly, "No, it let me get close- about ten or fifteen feet. I could have probably gotten closer if I had wanted to." Alyssa was quiet for a moment, making mental notes before she nodded for him to continue, "What happened next?"  
  
"Well then that's when the doe appeared. The stag acted as if it had known her. Kinda nuzzled her, but it didn't seem to think I was any danger because it had let her get close to me. It was watching me though.... Not as if I were a threat, but more like-...." "...-Prey?" Alyssa offered, quietly. Will nodded, "Yes."

Alyssa bit her lip in thought, "All right, this is a bit of a toughy. From what yer tellin' me, it sounds like the stag could be someone you know, but could be a threat to you," she explained. She, of course, all ready know just who the stag was meat to represent, but to say such outright would be laughable if not comically suspicious. "The doe, though- that's a bit hard to figure out. Perhaps she's someone you know. What did you feel when she got close?"  
  
Will looked at the snow-plowed ground in thought, "Like she was familiar- a friend." Alyssa had a ghost of a smile on her face when she nodded, "And by how you continue to refer to the stag as an _it_ while you call the doe a _she_ leads to belief a further sense of familiarity and intimacy."  
  
Will blinked several times as if he had cleared something from his vision. "So," he began, regurgitating back her notes, "The stag is someone I know and could be a threat and the doe is someone I'm close to?" "And possibly rather close to you as well since she neared you. Did she do anything?" Will shook his head _no_. He had to admit, reluctantly, that the girl's insight was rather sharp. He felt a sense of clarity, "Where did you learn how the psychoanalyze someone like that?"  Sure he wasn't fond of being psychoanalyzed, but at least she didn't ambush him like Jack and Doctor Lecter had.  
  
Alyssa shrugged, her smile showing that she was rather pleased with herself, "I don't know where it came from, but I was able to piece out my own dreams when I was about thirteen. One kinda told me how my ex-best friend would drop me like a stone."  
  
Will chuckled dryly, "And what did your dream mean? Or can you not tell me?" Alyssa chuckled softly, "I don't see why not.  
  
"When I was fifteen, I had a dream where I came out as bi to Sarah and her; Let me make it clear, I'm straight. When I told Sarah, She smiled and accepted it, but when I told Haley, she ran screaming. A few days later, I had my Facebook account hacked by someone. They sent out messages to all five of my girl friends confessing that I had been in love with them. Out of all of them, Haley was the one I was closest to. She and her parents blocked me and stopped talking to me all together, not letting me get my two cents in to explain. If the dream wasn't an omen, I don't know what else it could have been."  
  
Will's eyes were as wide as saucers at what he heard, completely dumbstruck, "How do you deal with something like that?" "Simple: I did't. I've been seein' my third shrink for a lil' less than a year," Alyssa chuckled, making light of the situation, though Will could see straight right through her. She was one hell of an actress who didn't want the attention and acted as if everything was fine so questions wouldn't be asked. Will could definitely sympathize with her. He remembered how jittery and worn Alyssa had been when she had gotten home from the supermarket two days ago. It was like she had run into an old enemy or something that she thought of or saw as a threat.

"Make sure you don't break at the seams around Jack," Will said in a flat tone as he began to walk back towards the house, "He'll send you to another psychiatrist that will flay you open and bring your darkest demons to the surface."

Alyssa had tuned Will out after he had said the word _flay_. "You have no idea how right you are." She muttered under her breath before she began to follow after him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah's innermost thought about her older sister are brought to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry, guys, for such a long wait for an update. Life was hell, though I have great news:
> 
> I PASSED MY GED!!
> 
> I hope this chapter's length will make up for the months-long hiatus. And also celebrate the tv series' return on the end of this month.
> 
> Thank you to those who have read this story and hung in there with me and left kudos. They really do make me smile.
> 
> Anyway, ON WITH THE STORY!!

Sarah knew something was up with Will as soon as she saw him get into his car and drive off, leaving her and Alyssa at the beach with the forensics team who were busy trying to disassemble the totem-pole-o'-death. She had noticed the distant glance in his eyes before, though did not really think much of it since both she and Alyssa both space out more than enough. 

The cold broke her from her short musing. She shivered and leaned against the shitty rental car, watching the team count over how many bodies there were, fretting about how they were going to lower the pole down to the ground for easier disassemble. Sarah sighed, trying to rub warmth back into her arms. 

She caught sight sight of Alyssa , As composed as always, mechanically cutting ropes and gingerly pulling limps off the spikes, passing them to a team member to be placed into the correct body bag. Sarah had to admit, her sister was so full of surprises. 

In the past, the elder couldn’t even look at a dead chipmunk that one of her many cats caught without getting ill. Yet here she was: taking apart a macabre puzzle made of different human beings an body parts, grabbing the decaying and putrid mess without so much as gagging. 

For Sarah to say she wasn't shocked by her elder sister's change would a complete and total lie. Speaking of lying, that was another thing; Alyssa couldn't lie. She was downright terrible at it. Her talents were listening to people talk about their dreams, pull stories out of her ass and helping total strangers with their petty and ridiculous personal problems. 

Sarah narrowed her eyes suspiciously towards Alyssa, who had tugged too hard on a severed leg as it came free suddenly, causing Alyssa to lose her balance and fall back into the sand with an “oomph,” getting a laugh laugh from the forensics team. 

Sarah had a feeling that Alyssa knew more she was letting on. Though thinking on this, it did make sense, or at least as much sense as it made when it came towards the sisters' logic and way of thinking. Alyssa's anxiety, her lying, how she would literally and figuratively kept looking over her shoulder, not to mention how she seemed even more tense when asleep. 

Though what struck Sarah twice as strange was how Alyssa never seemed shocked or surprised at crime scenes. Her ability to methodically and calmly help Will was of no surprise since she was a natural at basic psychology. 

Perhaps being a little mentally fucked over helps, too, Sarah though with a secret smile. 

In all actuality, Sarah enjoyed watching the elder girl squirm then fold under pressure. Alyssa always wore a mask and would cat brave, so it always, without fail, tickled Sarah pink when that mask would crack and slowly begin to crumble. Sarah would adore to send flowers to whoever it was that put the elder into her “fight or flight” mode when the two had been at the supermarket earlier that week. 

Remembering how what little color Alyssa possessed, completely drained in an instant, made a snake-like grin pull at the corner's of Sarah's lips. No, it's not that she hated the other girl, not really–  
she was just insanely jealous. Not that she'd freely admit that out loud, of course.

Alyssa never had to dress up, or cut her hair or wear make-up to get a guy she fancied to notice her. Hell, she didn't even have to approach him –or them in most cases. They would always come to her first. Now, that was something Sarah did hate about the elder. Men flocked to Alyssa while Sarah couldn't get her crush of seven years to even look twice. 

Sarah clenched her fists in her pockets, face impassive of what she felt. She watched Alyssa unblinkingly as the older girl was assisting one of the forensics team sort through a few arms to match up a left hand with the right. 

The younger girl's logic made her believe that Alyssa had to be the reincarnation of a siren or a nephilium or something of a highly attractive pedigree. She got everything she wanted like a spoiled brat without having to work or ask for it. She had looks, brains, grace, a matching personality and everyone absolutely freaking loved her. 

A silent storm continued to brew within Sarah's brown eyes as anger –an emotion that she was sure to keep well hidden– broiled deep in her chest. It wasn't fair. And no matter what Sarah got the both of them into, Alyssa just had to be the fucking girl scout and troop through it. It's how they got on these groady Chesapeake Ripper cases. 

Alyssa was always more sensitive to the dead, even more so than blood, understandably. Much to Sarah's dismay, it would seem that simply slinging Alyssa into the fray wasn't the only thing needed for the elder's complete unraveling. Sarah would even go so far as to feign illness so Alyssa would have to go alone and not have anything of familiarity to serve as a distraction to focus on.

Sarah grit her teeth and breathed through her nose to calm herself. Perhaps she was just trying too hard. After all, Alyssa did appear more jumpy and cautious than she usually was. Maybe she should just ride the wave and watch as Alyssa did the rest of the work to lad herself into her own insanity. 

Sarah was broken from her musing again when Alyssa had jogged over and clapped her on the shoulder, “C'mon, sis, Babette's been fixed up.” At this, Sarah blinked once at the older girl before she got into the passenger's side of the shitty rental, Alyssa in the driver's side. 

“What about the case?” Sarah asked. Alyssa looked over at her curiously as she twisted the key several times before the rental choked to life, “what about it?” “Well are we just gonna,-” “-Sarah, I”m too committed in the case to just up and leave, yet. We're not going anywhere, so don't get your panties in a bunch,” she chuckled as she struggled with the sticky gears to remove the car out of park. “You'll have all the time in the world to cozy up with Will and his dogs in front of the space heater.” 

Sarah's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson as she sputtered for a comeback, though she never got the chance due to jack knocking on the driver's side window. Alyssa's reaction wasn't very violent, though the way she spun in the seat and chocked on a shriek wasn't that expected, either. It had been a miracle that she hadn’t slammed her foot down on the gas pedal. 

Jack had seemed just as shocked as Sarah did. Alyssa was mortified before rolling the window down and folding her arms on the steering wheel, hiding her face in the crook of an elbow, “Sorry, Jack, is there,–” “–Something wrong?” Jack finished for her. “I don't know, Thompson, you tell me. You've been acting like this for a while.” 

She hadn't, not really, though Alyssa was in no mood to argue. She raised her head, sighing, “I'm just tired, sir. It's been a long day. That's all.” Jack obviously didn't believe her as he rubbed a hand over his face. 

“This is what I was afraid of ,” he said, more to himself, pulling a pad of paper and a pencil out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket, scribbling something down before ripping the page from the pad and all but shoving it into Alyssa's face. It was a phone number with an address underneath though had no name on it. 

“I want you to set up an appointment. It doesn't have to be today or tomorrow,” Jack explained in a forced calm, “but you better by the end of the week.” He looked to Sarah, making her her feel like an insect stuck on a needle pin. “You make sure she does. Understand?” 

Sarah nodded quickly, taking the note from Alyssa, “Yes sir, of course.” Both girls glanced at each other before looking at Jack who's gaze shifted between the both of them. After what felt like eons to both girls, he finally stepped away from the rental, Alyssa pressing on the gas and almost tearing off the beach, flurries of sand being kicked up as the tires tried to gain traction. 

Pulling onto the main road, Alyssa made to drive into town. “He seriously scares me,” Sarah admitted, reading the number on the note. Alyssa laughed humorlessly, “You're not alone, sis. He'd give Ugly Umbridge nightmares.” Sarah snorted to keep herself from laughing in hysterics, “Did you seriously just go there?” Alyssa shrugged her shoulders, “Well, it's true. And since when did you become my keeper?” After that, they both fell into silence.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Half way to the mechanic, still in silence, both girls jumped when the chorus of “I'm an Asshole” started to ring from between the two front seats. 

“That's Jack; get it,” Alyssa said, Sarah giving her an amused look. The ringtone was perfect. Alyssa muttered under her breath, “The hell does he want, now,” before Sarah had hit the receive button and held it to her ear. 

“'Lyssa, have you seen Will? There's another body found that matches up to the Ripper and I need you both to check it out,” Jack said hastily. It was all Sarah could do to ear him over the cacophony of unidentifiable sounds that echoed in the background, almost drowning his voice out. 

”Lyssa's drivin' Jack, but I'll pass the message on,” Sarah said. She was sure Jack was shocked to hear her voice instead of Alyssa by the pause. Though it was Alyssa's phone, after all.

“Put me on speaker,” Jack said promptly, Sarah doing so. “Can you hear me, Thompson?” “Loud 'n' clear, Jack,” Alyssa replied, forcing herself to sound not as annoyed as she felt. Sarah had to repress a chuckle, biting the inside of her cheek.

He went on to tell her the same thing he had told Sarah before hanging up, Alyssa unable to tell him that they hadn't seen Will. Alyssa muttered under her breath before putting the phone back into the cup holder. “I just want to get my car, go home, take a shower and sleep. Is that really too much to ask for?” 

Sarah giggled, “Yes,” receiving a dirty glare from the older girl. Alyssa sighed then in defeat. “First thing's first; we're getting Babette, Jack as pissy as a doggy-diaper or not.” For once, Sarah wouldn't complain about said beloved Impala. Anything is better than the rental rust-bucket.

It was Sarah's turn to sigh then as she laid her head against the rattling window of the worse-than-shitty rental car, and let her mind wander. Though it never got very far since Alyssa spoke, “See if you can reach Will. If we're lucky,–” “–Which we're not,” Sarah mumbled. “–maybe we can catch him on the way to Jack,” Alyssa finished, giving Sarah her famous parental-like look. 

Sarah returned it with a bored, uncaring expression of her own, though picked up Alyssa’s cellphone again and tapped the number seven for Will's speed-dial. It rang once before the annoying robotic voice said that Will Graham was unavailable. After the near seizure-inducing tone almost blew Sarah's ear-drum out, she left a message:

“Hey Will, It's Sarah. Where are you? Jack says there's a new crime scene that's closer to the Chesapeake Ripper. I'll text you the address.” She then ended the call, proceeding to do as she had said. 

“couldn't you have just told him?” Alyssa asked, sounding like she was more complaining. Sarah nodded, looking from the note-napkin she had used to write down the location, then back to the screen of the Android, not once sparing Alyssa a glance. 

“Nope. Can't be sure he'd hear me over this tin can's rattling. Not to mention your crappy excuse of coverage.” She could see Alyssa tilting her head side to side, muttering, “True,” under her breath. 

“Okay, just keep any cutesy things out of it. My balance is low.” Sarah nodded, “'Kay.”

She was sure to make the text as long as possible.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Will never did get back to them, but he didn't have to as the Impala rolled up on the crime scene and parked on the curb. “Look, there they are,” Will said, nodding his head in their direction as the vehicle pulled to a stop. 

“Where were you?” Jack began, his deep voice deeper with annoyance. Though as both girls got out, he understood why the girls were so late. 

“I told you it was left at that last,” Sarah fussed at Alyssa from across the top of the car as they got out. 

“No you didn't, you said right!” Alyssa hissed back, slamming the driver's side door closed with more force than intended. 

“You idiot, I said right as in yes when you asked!” Sarah sot back with a leer and an eye-roll. Alyssa shot her the “double finger defense” as she called it, both of them walking away from the car towards Jack and Will. Both men were considering if leaving the two girls to fight it out would be their safest course of action. 

“You say 'yep' er somethin' when givin' directions, idjit!” Alyssa practically growled, looking like she was ready to jump the other. 

That's when Jack cut in, “Break it up, the both of you! Get serious!” As expected, both girls fell silent, Alyssa folding her arms as Sarah tucked her hands into her pockets. 

“Right, so what's up?” Sarah implored before Alyssa could get her two cents. Said girl looked at the younger with a raised brow, a faint smirk on her lips. 

“Have a look for yourselves,” Jack said, nodding his head back down the alley.

Peering past him, both girls sucked in a sharp breath, Sarah gritting her teeth to battle the nausea. “The hell?” Alyssa groaned out in revulsion. At the other end of the alley, was what Sarah would imagine what a child would do if trying to make a puppet. The body was strung crudely by its wrists and neck.

The flesh of the torso was slicked from the collarbone down to the pubic bone then cut around the waist line then cut back up the sides to form u-shaped slabs of meat. It was then pulled backwards then out to the sides, strung in place with some kind of wire, the ribcage broken down the breastbone and cracked outwards to brace against the bottom half of the flesh-slabs. The organs seemed to have been left most intact, held in place by more of the wire.

“Dear God,” Sarah heard Alyssa breathe out. Like Sarah, Alyssa couldn't look away no matter how much she desperately wanted to. “God has nothing to do with this,”Will said almost somberly from where he stood between the two girls. Sarah could see Alyssa's hand jerk slightly as he had taken her by surprise. 

Though Katz drew all of their attention as she pulled something out from under the nearby dumpster off to the left, holding the object with a a pair of forceps. “Or maybe He does,” she said bagging what she found. “Rosary string. The chain's broken.”

“Probably either cut by the wire or the suspect,” Will said, looking up impassively. “Any I.D. On the victim?”

“Not yet,” Brian said as he took a picture of what appeared to have been a watch that could have belonged to the victim as well. 

“The liver and heart were removed,” Will stated blankly. Jack sighed at the observation. That kind of news could only mean one of very few other options. “Any insight you'd like to add, Thompson?”

Though Alyssa was barely listening. She was rooted to where she stood, staring up at the corpus, ghost-faced and tense. “'Lyss?” Sarah said, placing a hand on the elder's shoulder. Alyssa shook her head to clear it, her eyes clenched shut.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she brushed Sarah's hand away, “Um, yeah...” Alyssa said, clearing her throat, “Yeah, I can't, er,– I can't think or see it bein' anythin' either than a ritualistic murder,” she cringed at the hoarseness of her own voice as she shot, blindfolded, into the dark. 

“And the organs?” Jack inquired with a professor's tone. Alyssa grit her teeth for an instant.

“Why ask me?” she almost snapped. Jack's expression was completely blank and unreadable as the space between and around the two grew tense enough to cut with a rust spork. Jack replied with a forced calm.

“You two are the students flunking out, remember?” Alyssa immediately bristled. Her face flushing.

“R-right... yeah, um, s-sorry....” Both she and Sarah glanced up at the body again, the younger folding her hands behind her back before stuffing them into her jean pockets to distract herself with loose change. 

“Perhaps the copy cat?” Sarah offered, getting a slight shocked expression from Alyssa. Jack groaned, rubbing a hand over his forehead. “I'm getting damn tired of hearing that name.” He glanced at Will, the other all ready filing out the alley, knowing what Jack was going to ask of him. 

Both Sarah and Alyssa had crept out along with the forensics team towards the Impala in hopes for an easy get-away, though no such luck as Jack caught Sarah before either of the girls had a chance to get too far away.

“What was all that?” He asked in annoyance, words aimed at Alyssa. Said girl blinked once, innocently, “What was-,” “You damn well know what, Thompson. You almost losing it back there.”

Alyssa sighed and crossed her arms, Sarah brushing Jack's hand off. “Were we lookin' at the same thing, Jack? Did you see it– how it was displayed? All the blood? Seeing a nurse-pincushion and a totem pole of limbs and corpses isn't enough to prepare someone to see that,” Alyssa waved her hand down the alley in a gesture to the scene. 

“Have you set that appointment yet?” Jack crossed his arms. Alyssa couldn't help but roll her eyes. He was acting overly-parental towards her for her taste. 

“No, Jack, I haven't exactly had the time to,” Alyssa said, beginning to get exasperated. “Can;t I just go home now, or is there somethin' else that you need to have done?” 

“There is,” he replied, “but it's more of the team's expertise. Go home- get some rest.” Alyssa was all ready walking around to the driver's side of the Impala, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder, causing her temper to broil. Why the hell is everyone so touchy?

“And make that appointment, understand? Don't think I'll let any of this slide.” His no-arguments tone had her silently groaning in dismay. Alyssa sighed, brushing his hand off again. 

“All right, Mr. Crawford, I heard you the first time,” she said, getting into her car as quickly as she could. 

“I mean it,” Jack's tone continued to heat Alyssa's temper, though she grit her teeth to contain it.

“Okay,” she said in a forced calm through her teeth as she started the car and pulled off, U-turning then driving away. 

“Whazzat all about?” Sara asked, yawning tiredly. 

“Nothing,” Alyssa bit quickly, fading into a yawn of her own, “Jack's just being Jack.”

Sarah raised her brows, “Wow, he's really gotten under your skin, hasn't he.” Alyssa chuckled, “He's always been under my skin. I don't like him,” Alyssa said, honestly, choking the steering wheel. 

“Me either,” Sarah sighed, “'Specially how he treats Will.” Alyssa,s mood shifted in an instant; chuckling under her breath, she gave him a sidelong look, “You really do have a thing for him, don't you?” 

“Who Jack? Eew, God, no!” Sarah exclaimed feigning ignorance. “No, Will you idjit. Don't think I haven't noticed the way,–” the chide earned Alyssa a leer. When she added, “You're in love with him,” it got her an empty bottle of Gatorade thrown at her head which she blocked, the bottle bouncing off her shoulder and rolling into the passenger side floorboard. 

“Take a nap, sis, you're cranky,” Alyssa chuckled. Sarah, huffing like a petulant child, turned in her seat so as not to see or be seen by the elder, leaving Alyssa to her thoughts. 

And thinking is what Alyssa exactly did. Just what the hell was all of this? This case was not part of the original storyline. Saying she was at a lost was an understatement. Originally, Alyssa's plan was to keep Sarah and everyone else in a haze, get to and survive the season finale and hope whatever power that got them here would see it as “game over” and send them home. 

If it was going to be as balls-to-the-walls nuts like this new case was, Alyssa wasn't entirely sure she'd last. It wasn't a put-on that Alyssa was feeling like she was going insane. Even if they did leave, she's sure that their lives would never go back to a state of normalcy. 

But what if simply just packing up and hitting the road was indeed the assured way to end this? Mulling that thought always made her stomach clench and her instincts telling her no. Either way, Alyssa didn't want to run away with her tail between her leg unless it became a necessity. Of course, “necessity” meant Hannibal in an apron and a butcher's cleaver in his hand. 

Despite the grim thoughts, Alyssa couldn't help but manage a giggle at the mental imagery of the terrifying doctor dressed like a 70's retro housewife. Her amusement disturbed the lightly snoozing Sarah as the Impala was steered down the street that Will lived on. 

“What's so funny?” Sarah grumbled, glowering back over her shoulder at Alyssa. 

“Nothing, I was just thinking about something,” Alyssa replied as the pulled into the drive. The Sudan wasn't there, so Will hadn't made it back, yet. Parking the car, Alyssa looked at her phone, “It's only four. Will's appointments are at seven-thirty plus we left before him. He probably has work that needs to be finished up.” 

Though both girls hesitated to get out of the Impala, sharing a look. “Should we go back and make sure he's okay?” Sarah began, “You're not the only one who's been acting strange lately. He seemed pretty dazed, earlier.”

By Alyssa's unamused expression, it probably would have been better to mention something earlier. Alyssa sighed heavily, looking at the time on her phone again, rubbing a hand over her face. She couldn't bring attention to Will's condition, yet. 

“No. I wouldn't even know where to start. It would be better to just wait here for him.” Looking to Sarah, she rolled her eyes at the younger's lost-puppy expression. “Think about it, Sair. How would he react if he got here and we weren't? We have no other reason to be out and this is the only place that we have to stay.” 

To avoid the oncoming hailstorm of complaints, Alyssa got out, heading across the yard to go inside. As soon as she opened the front door, the pack of dogs ran out past her, barking and yelping happily. Alyssa cringed at the shrill sound, heading into the kitchen. The sound of the door banging closed signaled that Sarah had followed. Alyssa leaned against the counter, waiting silently to see if Sarah was coming into the kitchen, though the loud stomps going upstairs signaled otherwise. 

Shrugging, Alyssa went to the fridge to get supper started up, “Gonna have to go shopping again,” she mumbled to herself.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sarah sighed heavily, flopping down onto the musty spare bed. Laying on her back, she stared up at the ceiling, hearing Alyssa bustling around in the kitchen. Such a good little housewife she's become. Sarah thought with a sneer. Though her thoughts did not linger on the elder for very long as they shifted back to Will. 

It bothered her how he had numbly up and left the beach. Even at the alley, his eyes seemed far too glazed over, like he wasn't all there. He had bee the prime example of someone who was functioning solely on autopilot. Alyssa's apparent lack of concern –with her always being a goldenhearted twit– bothered her even more. Something was definitely up with the two. Reaching into her pocket, Sarah fished out the rumpled note Jack had given to Alyssa earlier.

Sarah stared at the number on it for a moment before getting up and reaching for the phone on the nightstand. Dialing the number and holding the phone to her ear, Sarah was surprised that it was answered on the first ring;

“This is Lecter....”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It wasn't until around nine minutes 'til eleven that Will finally got back, Sarah all but flinging herself at him, arms hugging around his neck. “Easy, Sair, let the man breathe,” Alyssa chuckled, sitting on the floor in the living room, reading a Phantom of the Opera book. 

“You had us worried, Will,” Sarah whined letting him go. She vaguely noted how he felt a little warm. 

“Yeah,” Will said, sounding a little faint and breathless, “Sorry about that. Something... something came up.” 

“There's food in the fridge if you're hungry,” Alyssa said, going back to reading her book. Will made a humming sound of understanding as Sarah went back into the living room, curling up in the armchair. 

After Will had eaten and changed out of his suit, he joined the girls, Sarah having moved to the couch. Alyssa was still on the floor with all the dogs crowded around her, but Will was sitting in the armchair. As it always seemed, they were in deep thought though about completely different subjects. 

“Why don't you see to the totem-pole case?” Sarah said, glancing at Will. “You've got a lot of work if you try and take both of them on.”

“Sarah's right,” Alyssa said, not looking up from her book. “You've got enough to manage as it is with that case, alone.” 

Will let out a long breath, “I'm not so sure about that. You're not licensed and only posing-,” “-You're stuck with us, Will, whether you like it or not.” Sarah said, sounding rather annoyed. Alyssa looked at her twin with mild shock but nodded in agreement, “yeah, you've been actin' a lil strange. You don't need the added stress of the Alley-Angel case.”

“What about you two?” he began, looking between the two. He looked a second longer at Alyssa than he did Sarah. He hadn't forgotten her little freak-out back at the second scene even being in the haze as he had been. 

Alyssa forced a smile, “We'll be fine, Will.” “Yeah, it may be gory as hell, but I've seen films and games that were much worse.” Sarah said with a small chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood some.   
The elder girl rolled her eyes, though laughed softly under her breath, “Anyway, cases from hell or not, no one is useful when exhausted. Plus I need to go shopping again tomorrow. To bed the both of you.” All three laughed, Sarah punching the elder on the top of her head, playfully. Though Will did bid the two a good night and retreated to his room. 

“Night Sair,” Alyssa said as the other girl got off the couch and stretched, “Speaking of tomorrow-,” she began, walking out of the room and towards the stairs. She got a strange look from Alyssa when she didn't continue until she had been half-way up. “I kind of set that appointment Jack had wanted to set up for you.”

When Alyssa tilted her head, Sarah explained further, “A psychiatrist appointment. For Thursday next week at six, thirty-five.” Alyssa's brows disappeared into her hairline as all color left her face and her eyes bugged. “...Dare I ask with who or is it like when I was thirteen and didn't know who until my first session?” 

“His name was Hector, I think. I couldn't tell; the phone,– ” “– Lecter....” Alyssa muttered, suddenly feeling very very cold. “Yeah, that's him! Well, good night.” Sarah said sickly sweet as she then quickly retreated up the stairs.

Alyssa all but flopped on the couch as her energy was sucked out of her, staring blankly at the ceiling, unblinkingly. Shit just got way too real. If she tries to sleep, she's sure her dreams will be filled with blood, gore, sharp-dressed men and the flash of silver knives....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again guys, I'm so sorry the update took forever. Though, I regret to admit, that chapter six may take just as long. BUT, I will be working on it; I shan't give up on this!!
> 
> If you have any ideas you'd like to see or find any mistakes, feel free to let me know.
> 
> Thank you for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> The dream bit is true from one of my own personal experiences a couple of years ago which has linked me to my study of dreams, today, and what they could possibly mean. No, I haven't talked to my friend since, and personally don't wish to for the fact that if she's willing to drop me that fast after years of being besties through high school, why should I?
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading, and I love reviews! Drop a Kudo, and you may get a shout-out.


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